AT&T U-Verse

[nathanm]

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

My Uverse TV is clearer and with more features than digital cable ever dreamt of.

You mean your Uverse TV can't push more than 2 HD streams at once and has more features than you ever dreamed of. Some of us cable users have far more features than Uverse thanks to third party boxes.

I just wish I could figure out exactly why it is that not all multichannel video providers are made by the FCC to comply with the separable security requirement, even though the law requires it.

The only advantage Uverse has over cable (it's not cheaper if you subscribe to everything including their highest speed HSI tier like I do) is that there are some niche channels available that aren't on Cox and they have HDNet and HDNet movies on their HD tier..which you have to pay for.

I was considering trying Uverse when it becomes available to me until I found that my friend's Uverse box is really no better than the Cox box when it comes to reliably recording all your shows and not recording a gazillion duplicates.

Did they ever roll out the online DVR scheduling functionality?

[groundhog]

quote:Originally posted by nathanm

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

My Uverse TV is clearer and with more features than digital cable ever dreamt of.

Did they ever roll out the online DVR scheduling functionality?

Yes, and AT&T also provides a mobile site so that you can program your DVR from your cell phone.  Works perfect.

[izmophonik]

It's about time someone caught up.  DIRECTV has been doing that for a while.   You can record shows from your cell phone, PDA or any computer.  Also you can stream shows to your PC from the receiver and then there is of course video on demand in 1080p...let's see..what else...

[tim huntzinger]

quote:Originally posted by nathanm

I was considering trying Uverse when it becomes available to me until I found that my friend's Uverse box is really no better than the Cox box when it comes to reliably recording all your shows and not recording a gazillion duplicates.

Under the 'Recorded' menu there are options that govern whether every episode should be recorded or just first runs.  The other day I had all four recording streams going.  Awesome!

[izmophonik]

again...U-Verse is behind the 8-ball called DIRECTV.  You should give yourself a techno spanking for thinking this is (A) New technology and (B) You are actually happy about it.

[8D]

[tim huntzinger]

quote:Originally posted by izmophonik

again...U-Verse is behind the 8-ball called DIRECTV.  You should give yourself a techno spanking for thinking this is (A) New technology and (B) You are actually happy about it.

[8D]

TVOIP is real new.  18Gbps is pretty new, too! We are going to be selling DirectTV sometime soon, so good to know you are happy widdit.

[izmophonik]

Yes, TVoIP is new.  I was referring to the actual functionality of your receiver interface not really how you get your content.

[tim huntzinger]

I never had DVR before U-verse.  Can you get Picture-in-Picture browsing with DTV?  How many streams can it record at once?

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

I never had DVR before U-verse.  Can you get Picture-in-Picture browsing with DTV?  How many streams can it record at once?

I can only record a paltry two programs at once with the DirecTv TiVo I bought in 2001, but I was still leaps and bounds ahead of cable...

[joshuasmaximus]

Here is my review of U-verse:

I have had uverse for about a month now and so far I am really impressed. I have the U400 (I have it for the price of U200 for six months) and the 6mb/dl internet. I can't compare Uverse to satellite (would never use a contract service) but I have had Comcast, Timewarner and Cox before.

The internet speed so far has been exactly as promised (not typical with cable). You have to use the 2wire wifi/router/gateway provided so that could be good or bad depending on your tech needs but it is reasonable configurable.

The DVR tech is miles ahead of any cable company I have used so far. The menus are much snappier the guide data is very good and the 4x sd streams are not available with cable on a singal box. Yes, you are limited to 4x SD or 2HD streams in your house (it does not matter how many boxes you have) so that can be an issue if you have a lot of TVs. The good news is, recorded shows do not count as a stream so if all the live streams are in use you can switch to a recorded show. The box allows 30sec skip (disabled on almost all cable DVRs) on recorded and OnDemand shows! There is a PiP display on the guide (very cool).

The HD quality is a better than Cox in my opinion. Cox's PQ was good on the local streams but the fringe channels (HistHD, FoodHD, TNTHD etc. were poorly compressed) Uverse has much better PQ on these channels in addition to having way more HD channels to choose from. The biggest difference for me is how OnDemand works with Uverse. The load times are almost non-existent. There is a very slight delay in accessing the OnDemand menus and guides but it is way way faster than on cable. FFWD, RRWD, replay and skip work much faster with almost no lag(with cable, its a huge pain and very slow to FFWD) the PQ of OnDemand is no better than cable and the SD stuff is not as good as a DVD but the navigation is amazingly good.

Finally, you can program the DVR from the web. my.att.com allows you to customize the interactive services provided through the tuner box (weather location, stocks, sports scores, fantasy sports [yahoo] and flickr photos) it also has a guide that allows you to check TV listings, schedule recordings and delete shows from the DVR. This is a great feature which I have used many times.

That's about it. I will add anoter TV in the next few weeks so I should be able to review the Total Home DVR stuff then

[EricP]

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

quote:Originally posted by izmophonik

again...U-Verse is behind the 8-ball called DIRECTV.  You should give yourself a techno spanking for thinking this is (A) New technology and (B) You are actually happy about it.

[8D]

TVOIP is real new.  18Gbps is pretty new, too! We are going to be selling DirectTV sometime soon, so good to know you are happy widdit.

Holy jesus, 18Gbps? Sign me up!

What is the distance you would have to be to actually get 18mbit on DSL anyway? Distance limitations has killed DSL speeds for a looonnnnnnnngggggggggggg time... u-verse involved adding local pedestals everywhere like Cox uses, right?

[tim huntzinger]

quote:Originally posted by EricP

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

quote:Originally posted by izmophonik

again...U-Verse is behind the 8-ball called DIRECTV.  You should give yourself a techno spanking for thinking this is (A) New technology and (B) You are actually happy about it.

[8D]

TVOIP is real new.  18Gbps is pretty new, too! We are going to be selling DirectTV sometime soon, so good to know you are happy widdit.

Holy jesus, 18Gbps? Sign me up!

What is the distance you would have to be to actually get 18mbit on DSL anyway? Distance limitations has killed DSL speeds for a looonnnnnnnngggggggggggg time... u-verse involved adding local pedestals everywhere like Cox uses, right?

Duhhhh, okaaayyyy.  Er.  18Mps.

[nathanm]

quote:Originally posted by groundhog

quote:Originally posted by nathanm

quote:Originally posted by tim huntzinger

My Uverse TV is clearer and with more features than digital cable ever dreamt of.

Did they ever roll out the online DVR scheduling functionality?

Yes, and AT&T also provides a mobile site so that you can program your DVR from your cell phone.  Works perfect.

Welcome to five years ago.

Prior to that, being the insane geek I am, I had things set up so I could text message my PC at home and it would connect to my TiVo and schedule a recording. Needless to say, TiVo's online scheduling is far more functional (as I'm sure at&t's is now)

[HDPokeFan]

I am an amateur video techie, so I decided to have U-Verse installed in early August.  So I could do a fair comparison I had it installed on the same TVs I have Cox - and kept Cox (just used different HDMI inputs).

My review:  Except for trouble in the first two weeks of service, I have had little downtime with AT&T.  However, I do have issues every now and then with the gateway and I have to constantly readjust my settings in the STB.

Picture quality: Almost identical.  Mainly comparing HD.  On broadcast channels Cox wins - I am guessing AT&T is compressing locals while I think Cox just sends what the broadcasters give them.

HD: Cox and AT&T have the same amount of HD channels, but Cox has way more HD content via On Demand.  AT&T is way behind here.  For HD it is not even close Cox wins by a landslide.  (By the way, U-Verse does not even carry PBS HD in Tulsa nor the cool 3 other PBS regular channels Cox carries)

High Speed Internet: I read last spring in the Tulsa World that 80% of Cox customers had access to 12 Mbps or more compared to 77% of AT&T customers were 3 Mbps or less.  Based on price and speed Cox wins again.

Phone: Phone is phone to me.  Cox launched caller ID on TV in OKC in the summer according my sister in OKC.  Will be interesting when they add that in Tulsa.

Recommendation: If you are not a HD fan and you are not happy with Cox, then you may want to consider switching.  If you have HD or thinking about buying a HD set - then Cox is your answer.  
With me being a big local high school sports fan I could not live without The Cox Channel's high school football and basketball.

[patric]

quote:Originally posted by HDPokeFan

High Speed Internet: I read last spring in the Tulsa World that 80% of Cox customers had access to 12 Mbps or more compared to 77% of AT&T customers were 3 Mbps or less.  Based on price and speed Cox wins again.

Maybe if you figure U-verse's 18Mbps instead of the 3Mbps you will be up to speed (if you will excuse the pun).